Insurtech Investments Break New Records in Q1

Insurtech investors worldwide executed the highest number of transactions, the highest number of property/casualty transactions, and the highest volume of Series B and Series C funding rounds during the first three months of 2019, according to the new Quarterly InsurTech Briefing published by Willis Towers Watson.

Eighty-five deals with a total value of $1.42 billion were announced in Q1 2019, marking the third-straight quarter to deliver more than $1 billion in funding, said the report.

At 56, the latest quarter saw the greatest number of property and casualty (P&C) transactions since WTW began publishing this insurtech briefing in Q1 2017. P/C transactions were up 37% from Q4 2018.

Other findings from the report include:

• Insurtech deal count increased by 35% over the fourth quarter of 2018, although total funding volume decreased by 11 percent.
• Some 54% of deals were outside the U.S., marking a continuing trend over the last two years. For example, 42% of all insurtech deal activity that took place outside of the U.S in 2016.
• Deal count in the U.K. increased by 50%, and in the U.S. by 44%. However, deal count in China fell by 38% this quarter.
• Two-thirds of investments were in Seed and Series A rounds, but Q1 2019 recorded the highest-ever numbers of Series B and C investment rounds, at 12 and 6, respectively (up from 9 and 3 during Q4 2018), as more nascent insurtechs reach adolescence.
• Early-stage insurtech funding continues to go to P&C. Since Q2 2017, P/C has outpaced life and health for early-stage (Seed and Series A) insurtech funding.
• Distribution-focused insurtechs have taken over half of all insurtech deals since 2014. Only 6% of deals have gone to full-stack insurers, while 40% have gone to B2B startups since 2014. However, B2B startups have taken a larger portion of deals more recently, with 42% of all insurtech deals since the start of 2018.

View the full report here.

Topics InsurTech Tech Property Casualty